


If you can see it

by DestielsDestiny



Series: (Shatter)Points in Time [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: ... - Freeform, Alternate Universe, BAMF Tony Stark, Blood, But all will become clear, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossing Timelines, Foreshadowing, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Mutant Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Purple Blood, This is a bit of a timeline mess, This is largely not canon compliant though, Time Travel, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, eventually, seriously, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DestielsDestiny/pseuds/DestielsDestiny
Summary: Tony has never truly understood his mutation. But then, nobody really understands mutants these days.





	If you can see it

When Howard Stark is seventeen, he decides to change the world. And for him, that means making money. Lots and lots of money. 

There’s not try in there by the way, not for Howard friggin Stark. 

By eighteen, he’s made his first hundred thousand. By twenty, his first five hundred. By twenty-five, his first million. 

By the time he’s reached thirty, he’s trying to make cars fly and has accumulated a personal wealth of roughly fifty times what it was just the year before. 

And then, just to top it all off, he helps Oppenheimer and co build the atomic bomb. 

Tony has heard that story a thousand times, from Howard’s friends, from Obie, from trashy magazines and history books. 

Even from Howard himself, back when the man still talked to Tony, back before strange things started happening with the clocks around the Mansion or the chronometers on Howard’s planes. 

But when his dad told it, he usually left out the nuclear part. 

It takes Tony almost forty years to figure out why. 

00

One day, somewhere or somewhen, Tony will stand before a furious Hank Pym, and listen to “You’re just like your father” for the ten thousandth time in his life. 

And it will take all the self-control Tony has to not reach his hand out and twist, to not suddenly make Janet Van Dyne appear right there beside them, large as life and just as real, and snap back a retort dripping with arrogance, “Betcha the old man couldn’t do this!” 

But the part of Tony that isn’t five anymore, that isn’t cruel and callous like that, the part that isn’t like Howard will stop him, will still the twitching in his fingers and the throbbing in his head. 

The part that isn’t like Howard, but will always, always, always wonder, no matter how much does or does not pass, wonder if Hank isn’t right. That part will raise liquid filled brown eyes, chin tilted towards the ground, shoulders slumped and heavy, and shoot back with a wry rasp, “Maybe you’re right.”

But it’s also the part that will pause in the doorway, that will smooth his fingers along a parched flowerbox, that will glance back at Dr. Pym’s thoughtful expression, that will find the fortitude to say “But then again, maybe you’re wrong. Maybe we both are,” and sweep from the room, leaving a planter brimming with now cheerfully blooming marigolds in his wake. 

00

The UN will ask him, “What is your mutation Mr. Stark?” And Tony will smirk, his stance casual and his tie previously festooned with brightly coloured lemurs suddenly sprouting polka-dotted elephants, and lean into the microphone until his breath rasps through the speakers in something just shy of a croon, “Actually, that’s Dr. Stark, Baby.” 

And hovering in the shadows, cloak flapping in the breeze, his husband will stifle a smile of truly inappropriate proportions for such hallowed halls. 

00

His parents leave for a fundraiser when he’s four, Howard only slightly tipsy, Maria resplendent in red, wearing just a bit too much foundation to not be hiding fresh bruises. 

Tony stands in the front hall, hands clasped and shoulders at parade rest, his clothes immaculate, waiting for a goodnight kiss. 

He remembers his mother smelled like apricots and roses. Try as he might, he’s never able to find a record of any such fragrance ever being produced. 

As they go out the door, Howard’s voice drifts back up the stairs, “Maria, weren’t you wearing red just now?” It is years too early, and Howard is far, far too sloshed for there to be suspicion in his voice. Not yet. 

But try as he might, Tony can never quite get the moment out of his memory either. 

00

Thanos’ lips are cracked and bleeding, washes of purple bubbling down his chin and flecking Tony’s bare feet. 

Pained eyes regard him with outrage. But it is the touch of confusion there than gives Tony a thrill of triumph. “How are you doing this, a mere mortal, who does not even possess the Time Stone?!” 

Despite his injuries, the voice is still a terrible thing to hear, echoing and flattening and deadly. 

Tony feels something warm wrap around his shoulders, buoying him up. He doesn’t spare the glance to look, but he knows he would find something red and slightly ripped and riddled with attitude. 

He took a menacing step forward…if one can look menacing while barefoot in outer space. 

If so, Tony officially owns that look baby. 

“Oh I’m sorry, I thought we’d been introduced already. Tony Stark.” He took another step, his feet now stained a dark magenta. Making sure Thanos was tracking the movement, Tony opened one hand very, very slowly. 

_Ever the showman, aren’t you Tones._

Fuck he missed Rhodey. 

When he smiled, it was all teeth, “Also, side note…was this the stone you were thinking of?” 

Tony hasn’t a clue what his mutation can actually do. No, seriously, not a single fucking idea. 

But he just bets that whatever it is, adding the time stone will make it all the more spectacular to find out. 

00

Charles Xavier offers to co-write a book with him. Tony finds it impossible to be anything but incredibly flattered. 

Naturally, it precipitates an invitation to the X Mansion. Which, hello, cool! 

Tony takes Peter, because how can he not. He gets Stephen to portal them there, because being showy is beyond fun, and epic entrances are always more epic with Stephen. 

And also, well, the Cloak helps just a little with pretending he hasn’t been there before. Even if he can’t quite recall when or where or why. 

So, that’s how he’s bickering with his husband and their sorta kid about who precisely is a piece of sentient outerwear’s favourite person when Erik Lehnsherr strides into the hall, offering a hand with a smooth, “Ah, you’re the chronal fixer that Charles won’t stop going on about.” 

And for all Tony knows the man came up with it through a bad sci-fi marathon and too little sleep, and yeah it makes him sound a bit like an intergalactic super villian, but fuck if Tony isn’t trademarking that. And patenting it just for good measure. And considering where he got his mutant name from, Tony supposes he isn't much of one to jugde. 

So naturally, he juts a hand out to clasp Lehnsherr's with a carelessly casual, "I'm Shatterpoint, yep." The man's smile turns wolfish with something strangely close to proud, and Tony isn't sure if it's the presumptory tone or the old world manner or the whole apparently-actually-giving-a-damn-about-what-Tony-does thing, but fuck if Lehnsherr isn't reminding him of JARVIS so very much in that moment. 

So much that for that moment, Tony forgets if this Erik Lehnsherr is a superhero or a supervillian, or just plain old Erik. If he's fought along side him or against him or both. For this moment, he merely slants an eyebrow at Charles' approaching form, and declares, "So, I just solved what to call my mutation in the book."

And just like that, chronal fixer it is.

It’s sure a damn sight better than anything Howard ever called him, let alone his mutation. And sure, if the current theories are too be believed, maybe he’s like this because dear old dad went out and got himself good and irradiated back before Steve ever went on ice, but Tony is nearly five decades past caring how he ended up like this. 

It’s the why he’s still working on. 

00

When Howard Stark was seventeen, he decided to change the world. 

Seventy odd years later, Tony’s pretty sure he wins, cause yeah, dear old dad decided to change the world. 

But Tony? Tony actually did.

**Author's Note:**

> If this seems confusing, well, that's probably intentional. Probably.


End file.
